Fire: A Time Jumping One-shot
by Duskspiral
Summary: A fire destroys a young cat's home.


**Whoops. The last version didn't come out correctly. Sorry about that!**

**Anyways, on with the story!**

Fire

Ashes.

They swept across the forest floor.

"What even is left?" The she-cat murmured, shaking her head sadly.

Black soot, scorched trees.

Her clan had scattered, some probably dead, killed by smoke inhalation or jumping through the fire to save others.

Now, she had no idea where they were.

But then came the voice.

* * *

They'd been in camp, sleeping, the middle of the night. The sky was darker than normal.

She'd woken with a start to smell a weird scent.

She hadn't realized the danger, and had simply turned over and went to sleep.

Well, went to sleep for about a second.

Whiteberry prodded her awake.

"The forest is burning!" she'd cried.

* * *

She jolted up. That voice… that was one of her clanmates? It sounded very familiar.

"Uh, hello?" she called.

A brown tabby tom emerged from the bushes, and she couldn't be more happy to see him alive.

"Branchfur!" she choked out, "Branchfur!"

She ran forward to lick his cheek, then pulled away, still in disbelief.

"You're alive!" she cried.

"Yes," he rasped. "We need to go."

Then Palmfrost realized why she hadn't recognized him earlier - his throat was scratchy from the smoke.

* * *

"Get out of here! Go!" Branchfur shouted to Palmfrost. His fur stood on end.

Her eyes watered.

"I c-can't leave you!" she stuttered.

He shook his head. "You need to be safe. You need to live. Now _go_."

* * *

"Go where?" Palmfrost asked. "We can't leave our clanmates!"

"The smoke," Branchfur replied.

Palmfrost looked into the sky. It looked like clouds, but…

Smoke covered the sky. She ran from camp, coughing. She couldn't see anyone else. Everything was covered in smoke.

She kept running until she broke the cloud. She collapsed, weezing. The smoke was in her lungs.

She was tired. She shut her eyes.

Then everything went black.

* * *

"It's so dark!" Palmfrost exclaimed. "Is that -"

"Yes, it's smoke," Branchfur responded.

Palmfrost frowned.

"The whole sky is..." she broke off, then whirled around to face Branchfur. "We need to go back to camp! We need to find our clanmates! What if something bad happened to them?" Reality had stepped in.

"Palmfrost, it isn't safe!" Branchfur gasped, but she ran.

Away from him.

* * *

And Whiteberry ran into the fire.

Her best friend.

"Whiteberry!" she called.

But there was no response.

Whiteberry had given her life bravely to try and find a kit.

* * *

She didn't even recognize her anymore. Her white fur was burnt black.

"Whiteberry?"

She'd ran to get here, and stopped when she entered camp. But she didn't have time to register anything else before she'd ran to Whiteberry's side.

"You've got to be awake!"

She poked her friend's side.

* * *

"The forest is burning!"

Palmfrost opened one eye wearily as she was poked by the white she-cat.

"Whiteberry, what is it?" she mewed sleepily, yawning.

"Get up!" Whiteberry cried. "The fire!"

* * *

"The fire?" Palmfrost asked, blinking in disbelief.

But she knew the answer. Whiteberry wasn't going to wake up.

She buried her muzzle into her friend's fur. She let out a painful sob.

Seeing Whiteberry's body made the fire seem so real. She couldn't believe it…

* * *

Palmfrost calculated that she'd been passed out for a good two sunrises after she'd ran from the fire.

_Two sunrises? No! You must be kidding!_

* * *

But there _was_ no kidding anymore. The fire wasn't a joke, or her best friend's death.

Branchfur had followed her.

"Palmfrost, it's alright," he mewed, touching his tail to her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

But nothing was going to be alright again.

**This story, as much as I like to believe it isn't, is partly real. Unfortunately, 335,000 people on average are killed every year due to wildfires. So if you haven't been affected by one, take this time to be grateful.**

**Now, if this confused you or if you're curious, go ahead and read the 'regular' one-shot (no time jumping). Nothing has been edited - the parts have been pulled directly from the original one-shot above. See it below.**

Fire

Ashes.

They swept across the forest floor.

"What even is left?" The she-cat murmured, shaking her head sadly.

Black soot, scorched trees.

Her clan had scattered, some probably dead, killed by smoke inhalation or jumping through the fire to save others.

Now, she had no idea where they were.

But then came the voice.

She jolted up. That voice… that was one of her clanmates? It sounded very familiar.

"Uh, hello?" she called.

A brown tabby tom emerged from the bushes, and she couldn't be more happy to see him alive.

"Branchfur!" she choked out, "Branchfur!"

She ran forward to lick his cheek, then pulled away, still in disbelief.

"You're alive!" she cried.

"Yes," he rasped. "We need to go."

Then Palmfrost realized why she hadn't recognized him - his throat was scratchy from the smoke.

"Go where?" Palmfrost asked. "We can't leave our clanmates!"

"The smoke," Branchfur replied.

Palmfrost looked into the sky. It looked like clouds, but…

"It's so dark!" Palmfrost exclaimed. "Is that -"

"Yes, it's smoke," Branchfur responded.

Palmfrost frowned.

"The whole sky is..." she broke off, then whirled around to face Branchfur. "We need to go back to camp! We need to find our clanmates! What if something bad happened to them?" Reality had stepped in.

"Palmfrost, it isn't safe!" Branchfur gasped, but she ran.

Away from him.

* * *

She didn't even recognize her anymore. Her white fur was burnt black.

"Whiteberry?"

She'd ran to get here, and stopped when she entered camp. But she didn't have time to register anything else before she'd ran to Whiteberry's side.

"You've got to be awake!"

She poked her friend's side.

But she knew the answer. Whiteberry wasn't going to wake up.

She buried her muzzle into her friend's fur. She let out a painful sob.

Seeing Whiteberry's body made the fire seem so real. She couldn't believe it…

But there _was_ no kidding anymore. The fire wasn't a joke, or her best friend's death.

Branchfur had followed her.

"Palmfrost, it's alright," he mewed, touching his tail to her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

But nothing was going to be alright again.


End file.
